


THE WORK Oy A 
PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION 



By Mrs, W.A.Murchie, 




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Book- 



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State of Maine 



EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT 



The Work 



OF A 



Parent-Teacher Association 



Prapared by 

Mrs. W. A. Murchie, 

Member of Superintending School 

Committee, Calais, Maine. 






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PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS. 



The Parent-Teacher Associations will be found of special 
value in villages and cities where teachers and parents inter- 
ested in a particular group of schools desire to organize for 
mutual helpfulness and for a study of local educational prob- 
lems. 

The following account of the Calais Parent-Teacher Associa- 
tion gives the necessary information relative to the work and 
purposes of the organization together with many practical 
suggestions that are applicable wherever teachers and parents 
may desire to unite in promoting the interests of the public 
schools. 

THE CALAIS PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION. 

Mrs. W. A. Murchie. 

The Parent-Teacher Association of the city of Calais is now 
in the third year of its existence. It was formed with the 
purpose, as stated in its constitution, of bringing about a closer 
union between the home and the school, that parent and teacher 
may cooperate intelligently in the education of the child. 

From October to May inclusive, monthly evening meetings 
are held at the high school building, one meeting of each term 
being a social meeting when light refreshments are served 
after the literary program. Notices of these meetings, with a 
cordial invitation to all parents, are inserted in the local papers 
and on the day of the meeting invitations are also sent to the 
parents through the school children. The program consists 
at each meeting of exercises by the school children, of reports 
of the standing committees, of the question box and of a short 
address on some educational topic of live interest to the commu- 
nity. 



The exercises by the children occupy about twenty minutes 
or half an hour. They consist of music and recitations, some- 
times of debates. The different schools, from the high school 
to the primary, are called upon at the successive meetings to 
furnish these exercises. The teachers and pupils have always 
responded heartily and this part of the program is an interesting 
one. It also helps to reach parents in all parts of the city and 
to bring them to the meetings of the association, when the chil- 
dren take part in the entertainment. 

The standing committees are as follows : 

The Press Committee whose duty it is to insert notices of the 
meetings in the local papers and sometimes to print papers of 
especial interest given before the association. 

The Social Committee whose duty is to have charge of the 
social meetings and the refreshments. This committee serves 
on an average of one hundred and fifty people at each social 
meeting. They solicit the refreshments as a rule from the 
members, bring their own dishes and leave the rooms in good 
condition. There are three social meetings. The committee 
consists of twelve or fifteen members. 

The Legislative Committee, . whose members keep in touch 
with existing school laws and all changes which occur in these 
lav/s in the legislative years — and who are often called upon 
to explain some school law to the association and at times to 
furnish a program for an evening meeting. 

The Educational Committee, whose members recommend 
good articles on educational subjects to the association and 
also good books for school children, and for mothers, v/ho try to 
keep themselves and the association in touch with new educa- 
tional movements and who make an especial point of visiting the 
schools and encouraging others to do so. At each meeting they 
are called upon to give a report and never fail to tell of some 
schools visited by the parents during the month. In this visit- 
ing, they notice, not only the teaching and the work being done 
by the pupils, but also the condition of the buildings, the venti- 
lation, lighting, state of repair, etc. 

The School Improvement Committee, whose members last 
year bought a piano for our high school through soliciting sub- 



scriptions from the townspeople. At our first meeting this 
year, they reported that the piano had been entirely paid for. 
They were able also, through petitioning the city council, to 
have electric lights placed in one of our grammar schools which 
was greatly in need of them. This year they are making plans 
to raise money for the equipment of manual training which 
they hope to see introduced into our city schools. 

The question box has been a means of presenting many 
interesting subjects to the association for discussion and explan- 
ation. Slips of paper are distributed at the beginning of each 
meeting. The members are asked to write any question which 
they would like to hear discussed at the following meeting. At 
the close of the program these questions are collected and before 
the next meeting handed to those best fitted to answer them. 
The following are a few of the questions which have been 
passed in — "How may the dull pupil be helped?" "Name some 
good games for high school girls." "What is the state law in 
regard to selling cigarettes to boys?" "Are the teachers doing 
all they can to ventilate the schoolrooms?" "Should not the 
schools be closed on days when there are severe storms?" 

For the address, we plan to have at least two talks given by 
physicians upon some topic connected with public health. Last 
year our topics were "Tuberculosis" and "Hygiene in the School 
and Home." This year we have had one address given by a 
physician upon the subject "Soundness of Mind Depends upon 
Soundness of Body" and plan to have another upon the subject 
"The Eyes and Their Care." Some of the other topics pre- 
sented have been — "Manual Training;" "Holding Our Pupils 
in School ;" School Playgrounds ;" "Proper Food for School 
Children ;" "The Schoolroom — Ventilation, Lighting and Inte- 
rior Decorations;" "The Brownlee System;" "Our Wild 
Flowers." The address on Wild Flowers was given in May 
of last year by a gentleman in our locality who is an authority 
upon the subject and the address was followed by an ofTer by 
the association of prizes for the best collections of wild flowers 
made by the school children during the summer. This ofi^er 
was accepted and many fine collections were passed in at the 
October meeting. In connection with the subject "Holding Our 
Pupils in School," the superintendent presented a report giving 



the number of pupils who had dropped out of the high school 
during the year and assigned reason in each case. 

The business of the association is conducted by the Execu- 
tive Committee which is composed of the officers of the asso- 
ciation together with the chairmen of the standing committees. 

An annual fee of twenty-five cents is charged. This has been 
used sometimes to help defra)^ the cost of the refreshments for 
the social meetings and sometimes for the expenses of speakers 
who have come^ to us from near by towns. The fee is kept at a 
low figure in order that no one may feel debarred from th6 
association on account of it. Our aim is to reach all the parents 
of school children, not the few. Although the larger part of our 
audience is composed of women, the meetings have proved in- 
teresting to the men also and have drawn a goodly number. 
Our teachers have shown a great deal of interest and have been 
willing to exert themselves in every possible way for the suc- 
cess of our meetings. 

The results, as so far shown, seem to justify the existence of 
the association. There has been a marked increase in the visit- 
ing of the schools, greater interest is shown by the parents in 
school work, a more reasonable attitude towards it exists and 
much higher intelligence in regard to the aims and purposes of 
our schools is evident. There is also a growing willingness to 
investigate when trouble arises, before passing judgment. 

In order to gain the best results in the education of our chil- 
dren it is imperative that the home and the school walk hand in 
hand. To bring this about is the great object of our asso- 
ciation. Our experience in Calais has proved that cooperation 
between parent and teacher is possible and practicable and that 
both the home and the school may receive benefit from such 
cooperation. 

The plan is capable of much greater development and we 
hope not only to make progress ourselves, but to see the work 
adopted and carried on much more generally throughout the 
state. 



5 

ii 
PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION. 

Consfitiition. 

Article I. This organization shall be called the Parent-Teacher 
Association of the city of Calais. 

Article II. Its object shall be to bring into closer relations the 
home and the school, that parent and teacher may cooperate intelligently 
in the education of the child. 

Article III. All parents, teachers and caretakers of children are 
qualified for membership. 

Article IV. The officers shall be a President, Vice-president, Secre- 
tary and Treasurer and an Executive Committee which shall be com- 
posed of these officers and the Chairman of the standing committees. 

Article V. Regular meetings of the Association shall be held at 
7.30 P. M. on the second Tuesday of each month from October to May, 
one meeting of each term being a social meeting. Special meetings may 
be called by order of the President. Nine members shall constitute a 
quorum to do business. 

Article VI. This constitution may be amended at any annual meet- 
ing and at any regular meeting by a two-thirds vote, when previous 
notice has been given. 

Article VII. The expenses of the Association shall be met by an 
annual fee of twenty-five cents. 

By-Lazi's. 

■vv^ArTiclE I. At the last regular meeting of the year the President 
'shall appoint a nominating committee of three to nominate officers for 
the ensuing year. 

Article II. Election of officers shall take place at the first regular 
meeting of the year and shall be by ballot. 
Article III. Duties of officers. 

The President shall preside at all regular meetings 
and at the meetings of the Executive board and shall 
perform the other duties pertaining to the office. 

The Vice-president shall preside at meetings in the 
absence of the President and shall be ready to assist 
the President in any way. 

The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings 
and shall have the custody of all books and papers 
belonging to the Association. 

The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds and 
shall pay the bills of the Association. 

The Executive Committee shall prepare the programs 
of the monthly meetings and attend to all other mat- 
ters which usually belong to such a committee. 
Article IV. Honorary members may be elected at the discretion of 
the Association. 



AkticlE V. The following standing committees shall be maintained: 

1. Educational Committee whose duties shall be to 
become acquainted with existing school conditions in 
our city through visiting the schools, to be informed 
upon new educational movements and to recommend 
to the Association articles and books which would be 
helpful to parents and teachers and also good books to 
place in the hands of children. 

2. The School Improvement Committee whose duties 
shall be to promote in all possible ways the improve- 
ment of school conditions both hygienic and aesthetic. 

3. The Social Committee whose duty shall be to 
have charge of the social meetings. 

4. The Legislative Committee whose duty shall be 
to make themselves intelligent in regard to all laws 
pertaining to our schools and school children. 

5. The Press Committee whose duty shall be to 
insert a notice of each meeting in our weekly papers 
the Wednesday before the meeting and an accoimt of 
the meeting in the issues of the papers immediately 
following. 

Article VI. The chairman of the committees shall be nominated by 
the nominating committee; the members of the committees shall be 
chosen by the Executive Committee. 

Article VII. Officers of the Association, including the chairman of 
the standing committees, shall not hold office for more than two con- 
secutive years. 

Article VIII. The chairmen of the standing committees shall present 
written reports at the annual meeting. 

Article IX. These by-laws may be amended at the annual meeting, 
or at any regular meeting by a two-thirds vote, provided that previous 
notice has been given. 



